Electric writing board



Jan. 30, 1962 A. ROMERO 3,019,425

ELECTRIC WRITING BOARD Filed April 1, 1960 18% 01"."I-I'fff-I-l-f-l-i-i-l-I"' INVENTOR. 4004p Rome-E0.

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United tates Patent 3,019,425 ELECTRIC WRITING BOARD Adolph Romero, 2322 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix, Ariz. Filed Apr. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 19,379 1 Claim. (Cl. 340-334) This invention pertains to electric writing boards, and more particularly to a panel to which erasable electroconductive writing may be applied.

An object of this invention is to provide an electric writing board or panel on which suitable electro-conductive lines may be traced with a pencil or stylus whereby a series of bulbs in a grid may be lit or energized to form a configuration corresponding to the material written on the board.

Another object is to provide an electric writing board of the described character wherein the scribed lines may be readily erased, putting out the previously energized bulbs.

Further features and advantages of this invention will appear from a detailed description of the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an electric writing board incorporating the features of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

As an example of one embodiment of this invention, there is shown a writing board of insulative material having a top surface 11 to which is applied an electroconductive film or coating 12 having a series of perforations 13 in the center of which are located the ends 14 of electrodes 15.

The electrodes 15 are connected through suitable resistors 16 (if required) to a series of light bulbs 17 which in turn are connected to a common conductor 18 going to an electric plug 19. The other side of the plug '19 is suitably connected to the electroconductive coating 12. The light bulbs 17 are arranged in a grid the same as the grid arrangement of the perforations 13 and ends 14 of the electrodes 15.

The above arrangement is such that when a stylus or pencil or pen of electroconductive writing point material is applied to the conductive coating 12 and crosses the various perforations 13 a circuit will be completed between the coating 12 and the ends 14 of the electrodes 15 causing the particular bulb 17 to light at the perforation where the circuit is completed. Thus, by suitably writing or lettering on the board the corresponding bulbs will light and reproduce the configuration in lights that has been scribed on the board. Any suitable erasing means may be provided for removing the scribed material from the board, thus deenergizing the light bulbs 17 whereby said bulbs will be ready for the next subject to be presented on the board.

It is to be also understood that the message may be Written or lettered on a sheet of paper with electroconductive material, ink or the like and then the paper ressed against and suitably held on the writing face of the board to thereby cause the appropriate bulbs to light to reproduce the configuration of the material on the paper.

While the apparatus herein disclosed and described constitutes a preferred form of the invention, it is also to be understood that the apparatus is capable of mechanical alteration without departing from the spirit of the invention and that such mechanical arrangement and commercial adaptation as fall within the scope of the appended claim are intended to be included herein.

Having thus fully set forth and described this invention what is claimed and desired to be obtained by United States Letters Patent is:

An electric writing board comprising: in combination:

(a) a board of insulative material,

(b) an electroconductive coating on one face of said board having perforations formed in said coating,

(0) electrodes fixed in said board having ends centrally positioned in said perforations and spaced from the edges of said perforations and terminating in a plane lying substantially in the plane of the exposed face of said coating,

(d) a series of light bulbs carried on said writing board, one for each of said perforations and electrodes, each bulb having one terminal directly connected to one of said electrodes and its other terminal directly connected to a common conductor,

(e) and means for directly connecting one lead of a power supply to said electroconductive coating and another lead of said power supply directly to said common conductor,

(1) said coating and the ends of said electrodes being so arranged in a common plane that writing on said board with a pencil having an electroconductive writing lead forms electroconductive conductive traces on said exposed face of said coating and across said perforations and the ends of said electrodes to thereby energize said bulbs in an array positionally corresponding to the material scribed in electroconductive tracings on said board.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,285,098 Flannery et al Nov. 19, 1918 FOREIGN PATENTS 854,150 Germany Oct. 30, 1952 

